At 82, she’s fit as a fiddle

Eighty-two year-old Juliana Giles and Member for Armadale Tony
Buti exercising at home.

At 82 years of age, Mt Nasura resident Juliana Giles could be forgiven for taking it easy at home during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Instead, Mrs Giles has been tuning in to Member for Armadale Tony Buti’s daily workout videos, copying his routines and improvising with household items.

As someone who leads a relatively active lifestyle, Mrs Giles said social-distancing measures had meant she was stuck indoors unable to go on her regular walks through town.

For the last three weeks, Mrs Giles has relied on the videos to remain active and help her cope with the isolation period.

“At my age, you don’t do very much,” she said.

“I haven’t been able to get outdoors and walk to the shops like I usually would.

“I thought that most of the exercises were great because they were relatively easy to do at home.

“We had the bottles and books here to use for the exercises

“I would encourage people to give them a go – don’t sit around too long.

“Get up and walk around – it’s that easy.”

And Mrs Giles isn’t the only one enjoying the daily workouts.

Dr Buti’s #stayactiveduringCOVID19 campaign is seeing him fast become an online sensation, even featuring on BBC World Live.

Though he didn’t expect the videos to gain so much traction, Dr Buti said he was pleased that they had been well received and that he planned to continue producing the content for the duration of the state of emergency.

“I know there are people sitting around during this isolation period, at home and not doing much, but it’s important to stay active – for your physical and mental health,” he said.

“It’s not geared towards any particular person – it’s all inclusive. “It’s important people can do them in the comfort of their own homes.

“This period of isolation has tested a lot of people in many ways.

“For some people, like Juliana, these videos have been an outlet and have changed their routines.”